Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…
We are a couple from a small beautiful Paper making town called Kawerau situated in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. I am an administrator for an Early Childhood Centre here in Kawerau and my Husband works for Norske Skog paper mill, also here in Kawerau.
We have one beautiful Daughter Named Rhema who is 3 years old and one fur baby named Koba. We are a couple who is very family orientated as we both come from large families, we enjoy exploring, we both share a love for our home town, outdoors, playing sports, good Mexican food and most of all spending time with each other. One thing that makes our relationship unique is that we truly are an example of “childhood sweethearts” as cheesy as it sounds, we have known each other for quite some time.
We had crossed paths two times before we made it official, but both realised timing was not in our favour. Third time lucky, fate brought us together and we fell in love at 16years old and 17 years old. We both knew at that point we were going to be together forever. Here we are 9 years of love later, a daughter, married and couldn’t be happier.. Most definitely breaking the stereotypical “Young love” stereotype lol.
Tell us about your special day, was there a specific theme or style? Tell us a little about the setting, the styling and some of your favourite details…
We wanted a simple rustic boho theme for our special day which would mix perfectly with the beautiful scenery we had at Meadow Hill. We aren’t very picky people so we had full trust in that whatever Casey from The Heirloom designed for us would be magic and would fit us perfectly and indeed it did. From the beautiful elevated garden with the Triangular archway covered in fresh flowers, to the container bar decorated with macramé hangers, the stunning clear marquee with fairy lights that lit up the ceiling, beautiful large hanging lottie light shades and the breath-taking floral arrangement above the top table with the hanging Edison lightbulbs. These were some of our favourite details of the day, but of course we loved everything. it was all so perfect and such a vibe..
Tell us about your main outfits:
I wore a beautiful gown from Spell & the Gypsy Collective (Bridal) called the Casablanca Lace Halter Gown in off White. Absolutely Stunning. The fit, the way it slipped on and the finishing of it all was beautiful. I specifically chose this dress mainly because of the train, it had a real vintage vibe to it and the detailing on it was perfection. I also chose this gown because of the open back, I felt it brought a whole new element to the dress and made it a lot more feminine looking. This gown was everything for me and most definitely fit faultlessly with our rustic/boho wedding theme.
Hori wore a simple package from Hallenstein Brothers, I felt the choices we made with the plain white shirt, dark brown shoes/Belt and tan pants made it all fit together real nicely and didn’t over-do it. Hori wanted plain, effective and straight to the point. Ya typical kiwi bloke, no mucking around with patterned shirts, cufflinks and fancy pants haha.
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
Our whole day was really memorable. But if I had to choose, it would have been the fact we had both of our very large families together in one place, coming together as one whānau. Whānau (family & friends) is our heart for the both of us, and to have had our grandparents present as well made it even more significant. A few travelled far to be here with us and to have captured them all together was undeniably priceless. We were so grateful to have found a location which allowed us to hold this event near our home town, with our Maunga (mountain) as our backdrop. It was definitely special for us and our whānau (family & friends) something we (me and hori) will hold closely forever. We are truly blessed.
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
Have trust in your journey of love. Hard times will always be a part of it, but as long as you have love and charity in mind with all that you face, you will always find some kind of light in the midst of darkness. Never give up, love is the one thing we all crave at some point..so when you find it cherish it with your all.
Ceremony Location: Meadow Hill | Photographer: Andrea Stephens Photography | Entertainment: DJ RaiZ | Styling, Hire and Planning: The Heirloom | Flora: Bare Soul Botanicals, Stella Lace Flora and The Heirloom | Catering: Family Member | Cake: Cake Works | Signage: Vinyl Junkies | Bride’s Dress: Spell | Groom’s Attire: Hallenstein Brothers | Rings: Michael Hill | Bride’s Shoes: Number One Shoes | Headpiece: Bare Soul Botanicals | Earrings: Amy P Jewellery | Bride’s Makeup: Makeup By Jayda | Bridesmaid’s Makeup: Makeup By Jamie P | Hair: Bespoke Hair By Chloe and Hannah McKay Hair | Fragrance: Lancome Official | Groomsmen Attire: Hallenstein Brothers | Bridesmaids Attire: Billy J Boutique, White Fox Boutique and JL Boutique NZ
